Good Girls
by Laura Ruby
Published by HarperCollins, Harper Tempest Imprint
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Reviewed by Christine Edlund
Good Girls is a stark portrayal of the current state of teenage sexuality and the implications, if caught in the act. Popular children's author, Laura Ruby, turns her talents to the teen drama genre in her engaging and character-driven new novel, Good Girls.
High school senior, Audrey Porter, can't get enough of bad boy and fellow classmate, Luke DeSalvio. Their secret meetings and make-out sessions aren't enough for Audrey--she wants more. But it doesn't look like they are getting any closer to becoming more than a hushed affair.
So, Audrey decides to break the relationship off at her friend's Halloween party. Yet, before she does, Audrey takes one more chance with Luke. Hoping to never even look Luke in the face, Audrey discovers that someone at the party secretly snapped a cell phone picture of her with Luke in a compromising position.
Now the whole school, plus her parents, knows what Audrey has been doing with this popular boy, Luke DeSalvio, behind closed doors. Audrey's always been the good girl. Now, she's fast becoming known at school as 'the bad girl.' Audrey tries to escape the humiliation by throwing herself into her schoolwork and focusing on getting into college. But Luke Salvio is at every turn.
As the novel progresses in the current time--and then in flashbacks, Audrey learns to live up to the expectations presented to her in the past and looks toward the future.
An intriguing novel of assumptions and consequences makes this novel an interesting read. Readers will not only care about Audrey's feelings, but Luke's as well. Good Girls is an honest and poignant story for the 21st century. However, I would not recommend this novel for younger readers due to its sexually explicit content.
Armchair Interviews says: Young adults, older than 14, will eat up the novel and Audrey's heartbreak. A 4-Star read!